John Gaskell
John Gaskell (died 6 November 2018) was a consultant neurosurgeon and the Director of Surgical Innovation at Holby City Hospital. Biography Motor neuron reversal At some point, Gaskell found a Hungarian man named Laszlo Furz who was presenting with symptoms consistent with end-stage motor neuron disease and had only a few weeks left to live. Gaskell began treating him, and Laszlo managed to make a full recovery and start walking again. (HC: "Group Animal - Part One") Arrival at Holby City On 5 December 2017, Gaskell's arrival at Holby City Hospital was met with much fanfare; Hanssen oversaw the transportation of Gaskell's equipment to a basement wet laboratory, and several members of staff watched outside the hospital to greet the professor. However, Gaskell opted for a quieter entrance. Shortly after his arrival, Gaskell's team brought in a patient named Michael who had no sensation in his left leg due to a spindle cell tumour compressing his spinal cord, and Gaskell aimed to restore the damaged area with a tissue scaffold laced with progenitor cells. In the theatre on Darwin, Gaskell worked with cardiothoracic surgeon Jac Naylor to insert an aortic graft and restrict the blood supply to Michael's tumour, but Jac felt that she could not complete the procedure and walked out. Outside, she accused Gaskell of being unethical and feeding off of the rest of the staff's feelings of uncertainty, but Gaskell insisted that he needed the likes of Hanssen to witness what his procedure could do and urged her to help him. Once they returned to theatre, Gaskell attempted to insert the scaffold, but Michael began to have an immune response to the growth medium, rapidly decreasing his blood pressure. Using a pledget, Jac managed to stop the bleed, and Gaskell successfully inserted the scaffold. Later, on ITU, Gaskell and his colleagues were stunned when Michael managed to move the toes on his left foot, showing that the procedure was a success. In the wet lab, Gaskell introduced Hanssen and general surgeon Sacha Levy to Laszlo to prove that he had reversed motor neuron disease, and Laszlo offered to be their case study. (HC: "Group Animal - Part One") After receiving a call about a shooter on AAU, Gaskell, Hanssen, Sacha and nurse Essie Harrison discovered Jac who had shot in the back and rushed her into the wet lab. Upon discovering that the bullet had pierced one of Jac's major blood vessels, Gaskell suggested fixing it using an experimental haemostatic matrix, but Sacha vehemently disagreed, given that it had not been tested on humans, and insisted on waiting for Hanssen to return with equipment. However, Gaskell explained that Hanssen, who had left to confront the shooter after he was identified as his son Fredrik, was not coming back, and Sacha reluctantly allowed Gaskell to insert the patch. Fortunately, Jac's pulse returned. (HC: "Group Animal - Part Two") Trivia * Gaskell had some Hungarian roots. (HC: "Group Animal - Part One") Behind the scenes In April 2017, it was announced that Paul McGann would join the cast of Holby City as professor John Gaskell. In a BBC press release, the character was described as a "surgical star with irrepressible charm", and Oliver Kent - the Head of Continuing Drama for BBC Scripted Studios - said, "in McGann's hands, John Gaskell will be a mercurial force to be reckoned with, and I can't wait to see him locking horns with Jac, Hanssen, Griffin and the other Holby titans."https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/paul-mcgann-holby-city References Category:2018 deaths Category:Consultant neurosurgeons Category:Male consultants Category:Neurosurgical Unit Category:2017 arrivals Category:2018 departures Category:Murderers Category:People who have committed suicide